Glass fibers are commonly attenuated from molten glass through orifices in a bushing. The number of these orifices can range from about 200 to 1200 or even more. These individual filaments are coated with a lubricant binder and/or size and are gathered into unified strands by gathering shoes. Such shoes are conventionally formed of materials such as graphite, tetrafluoroethylene and the like as can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,782,563, 3,560,178, or 3,718,448.
As the strands are drawn across the gathering shoe, abrasion between the fibers and the shoe results in wearing of the shoe surface. The shoes are commonly rotated slightly about once every hour due to the wear and must usually be replaced at the end of each working shift, i.e., about every 8 hours. Further, due to the unevenness of this wear, breakouts often occur due to the glass fibers catching on the grooves formed on the shoe. This interrupts the formation of the glass filaments and adversely affects production.
By means of the present invention, wear of the gathering shoe can be reduced, thus lengthening the life of the shoe and improving production from the shoe. Further, due to the construction of the gathering shoe of the present invention, the glass fiber strands are subjected to a gaseous fluid stream which aids in drying the strands.